Soldier, soldier, will you marry me,
With your musket, fife, and drum?
Oh, no, fair maid, I cannot marry you,
For I've got no shirt to put on.
Straight away, she went to her grandfather's chest,
And she took one of the very, very best,
And the soldier put it on.

Soldier, soldier, will you marry me,
With your musket, fife, and drum?
Oh, no, fair maid, I cannot marry you,
For I've got no pants to put on.
Straight away, she went to her grandfather's chest,
And she took a pair of the very, very best,
And the soldier put them on.

Soldier, soldier, will you marry me,
With your musket, fife, and drum?
Oh, no, fair maid, I cannot marry you,
For I've got no socks to put on.
Straight away, she went to her grandfather's chest,
And she took a pair of the very, very best,
And the soldier put them on.

Soldier, soldier, will you marry me,
With your musket, fife, and drum?
Oh, no, fair maid, I cannot marry you,
For I've got no boots to put on.
Straight away, she went to her grandfather's chest,
And she took a pair of the very, very best,
And the soldier put them on.

Soldier, soldier, will you marry me,
With your musket, fife, and drum?
Oh, no, fair maid, I cannot marry you,
For I've got no cap to put on.
Straight away, she went to her grandfather's chest,
And she took one of the very, very best,
And the soldier put it on.

Soldier, soldier, will you marry me,
With your musket, fife, and drum?
Oh, no, fair maid, that's a thing that cannot be,
For I have a wife of my own.
Oh, no, fair maid, that's a thing that cannot be,
For I have a wife of my own.
Oh, no, fair maid, that's a thing that cannot be,
For I have a wife of my own.

This variant was recorded by Jim Payne and Fergus O'Byrne for a CBC St John's radio show about Newfoundlanders at war. It was recorded as a round, or a composition for two or more voices in which each voice enters at a different time with the same melody.

See more songs by Jim Payne.The video below features an excellent guitar performance of a variant entitled O, Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me? by Tony Archibald from Port St Mary on the Isle of Man.